After Loss to Texas, Oklahoma's Ben Arbuckle Answers Disappointment With Grit

"I saw a team that was hungry, even angry, hangry," Venables said after the game. "A hangry football team. A team that had a lot to prove and know we have a really good football team."

After the disappointing loss to the Longhorns, most were willing to buy that the Sooner defense simply had a bad quarter in Dallas. Their overall talent and résumé are too good to ignore. They proved that assumption true in Columbia.

The offense, specifically Mateer, the offensive line and Arbuckle all needed to put something down they could be proud of. Questions and doubt follow Oklahoma anytime they lose to Texas. But the way they lost in the Red River Rivalry was the origin of any concerns: 6-of-17 on third down, just 1.6 yards per carry on the ground, or only totaling 258 yards of total offense.

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The porous performance brought with it criticism that is in line with the expectations of a program like Oklahoma's, something to which Arbuckle is new. But the first-year Sooner coach doesn't see it that way.

"Criticism comes my way, you think it's the first time? It ain't the first time," Arbuckle said on Saturday. "I wouldn't have even known. I didn't look into anything. I tell the players, 'Don't listen to the outside noise,' so I better be following my own instruction there."

Arbuckle's outlook was and is correctly placed. In a grueling SEC schedule, there's going to be ups and downs, successes and failures. You can always strive to improve, and Arbuckle sees that as a two-way street between he and his players.

"I just took it as a week that, look at what we can get better, demand what we can get better at, and it's the same for the players as it is for me," Arbuckle said. "That was the big focus this week for myself. That was a big focus this week from the offense. And we've got to keep on getting better."

That's what the Sooners did against the Gamecocks: 8-of-16 on third down, 4.3 yards per carry on the ground, and more than 300 yards of total offense. In particular, the Oklahoma ground game saw its biggest improvement in 2025.

While the South Carolina rush defense isn't anything to write home about — 75th in the country, allowing 150.4 yards per game on the ground — neither was Temple's (104th) or Kent State's (128th). The Sooners rushed for more yards against those previous opponents due to the talent imbalance. Following those games, the jury was still out on whether or not this offensive line could consistently allow for Arbuckle to rely on a traditional running game.

Against South Carolina, Arbuckle could do just that. His offensive line showed toughness and an ability to assert themselves.

Febechi Nwaiwu drove defensive linemen to the ground. Derek Simmons bounced back from two consecutive disappointing outings and an injury to protect Mateer. Michael Fasusi recovered from early mistakes to help open holes for Tory Blaylock and Xavier Robinson.

They played like a hangry offensive line under an equally hangry offensive coordinator, hungry and angry following their first loss of the season. The offense's collective response to the Texas loss caught Venables' eye.

"He's gonna carry that burden," Venables said when asked about Arbuckle taking criticism. "But he's a tough guy, and I've said that a lot about him. He's got really good toughness to him, super ultra competitive. And so I think all of them together did a great job of just showing great belief and determination for our guys to win."